The Jewel of Amathaunta
by Eden Haem
Summary: Renna Hills is certain she is as ordinary as you can be as an 11 year old with white and blue hair, but what happens when she receives a letter from Hogwarts and later discovers that she is not merely a witch, but also a rare elemental mage. Set at same time as HP and the philosophers stone. No pairings that I know of yet. May contain long chapters and an even longer story.


**Renna Hills and the Jewel of Amathaunta**

Chapter 1

**Changing Tides**

On the morning of the 20th of July, Renna Hills was woken from her dream by the sound of the waves and the dawn light coming in through a gap in the dark blue curtains of her bedroom window.

As she opened her eyes, she revelled for a moment in the wonderful dream she had been having. She had yet again dreamed of swimming in the sea, over rocks and corrals, with fish and other intriguing sea creatures. She had heard the sound of the woman's voice, singing a wordless tune as she drifted in the waters.

This dream had been coming to her a lot as of late, and she still didn't recognise the voice and had never seen the woman herself, but she didn't mind. It was still a very nice dream to have.

After a while of lying under her covers, basking in memories and the dawn light, Renna finally mustered the strength to pull herself up and look at the clock on her bedside table. 5:30. Perfect.

She clambered out of bed and replaced her pyjamas with her favourite dark blue swim suit and pulled a pretty baby blue summer dress on over the top. She turned to the mirror against the wall and let out a sigh. It not necessarily unusual to sigh at one's appearance, but for Renna, the reason she sighed was quite an unusual one. Her hair which had once been a mix of dark blond and pale brown had recently become the most shocking white. Yes, white. It was true that it did not make her look old or clash with her skin tone, but it was such a bright tone that it was impossible to not draw attention. In addition to this, the ends of her hair had begun to turn a rich royal blue colour, which stood out all the more.

It had changed colour four months ago, doing so gradually, strand by strand. When the first one changed, it was rather a surprise, but as more and more of her hair took on this colour, she became resigned to the fact that this was happening whether she wanted it to or not. The main problem was school. It was definitely not common for an 11-year-old girl to have white hair and the rumors had run rampant. The most common theory was that a ghost had come and scared her so much that her hair had lost its colour.

Renna let out a resigned "humph" and then smiled. She would not let herself be put in a bad mood. After all, today was not only the first day of the summer holidays; it was also her 11th birthday.

In a swift motion, she put her hair into a messy bun that allowed the shorter parts of her hair to tumble down across her face and neck, two longer strands framed her face like blue and white feathers. She ran out of her pale blue room and down the stairs from the converted attic to the ground floor of the house, being sure not to wake her sleeping grandparents.

She poured herself a bowl of frosted flaked and milk, and sat down to write a note for Grandma Hannah and Grandpa Tom, in case they woke up before she got back.

She then finished her breakfast as quickly as she could, stuck the note on the fridge door and dashed out of the house. The view was just as stunning as ever. The house was sat comfortably atop a hill that overlooked the sea, which today was calm. Small waves splashed across the pebble beaches that spanned this coastline, at the bottom of the smooth cliffs that seemed almost too perfect. The only thing that seemed whiter than them was Renna's own hair.

With a smile on her face Renna ran down to her favorite beach at the bottom of the cliffs, following the dusty path that led down to sea level. As soon as she got there she shed the pale dress, put it on a rock and weighted it down with a stone, and strode into the cold waved of the sea she loved so much.

* * *

After she had spent over an hour swimming (she had on a waterproof watch which told her it was nearly 7 o'clock), Renna decided she should probably go back home. She did not want to worry her grandparents after all.

She had spent the time swimming around the rocks at the sea floor, looking for shells or pretty stones. She would never really admit it to herself but she also held onto the hope of finding a necklace she had once dreamed of seeing in the very same waters.

She swam to shore carrying a dark green stone she had found nestled in the rocks, and walked out of the water, her muscles aching in protest. After squeezing the water out of her hair, she pulled on her dress and slipped the stone into her pocket, then lay in the morning sun to dry off for a while.

When she had decided that she was adequately warm and dry, she stood and stretched herself out. The sounds of talking and laughter met her ears and she turned to see a group of teens from the local secondary school sauntering down the path towards the beach. She turned and walked away as they neared the bottom, flickers of their conversation met her ears.

"…say she's really the ghost of a girl who…"

"…But she came back from the sea…"

"…they say you can hear her singing to the moon at midnight…"

She had heard these rumours hundreds of times before. When her hair had first changed the only time she would leave the house was to go for a swim at dawn or dusk, and when school restarted there was a rumour that a ghost was haunting the shore. Where the singing thing came from she had no idea, but she knew they had seen her come out of the water before and must have decides she looked dead. It annoyed her at first but she had gotten over it.

She walked around the base of the cliff and disappeared from their view before climbing up to the path… best to keep the story's alive, they make the place interesting. If they didn't see her leave they would believe she had vanished into the sea.

When she reached the top of the path the village beyond her house came into view near the base of the other side of the hill. It was small, with a church in the centre and two schools, a primary and a secondary, at opposite sides of the cluster of houses, perpendicular to the small high street with its cute little village shops and even a tiny bookstore. This was her favourite place in the otherwise boring place. She went there after school on some days to see if any new books had come in, as she had read almost everything in there at least once. There were two things she loved to do most. One was swimming and the other was reading.

She turned and looked out to sea and smiled to herself. She had a whole summer of freedom to look forward to before her first day of secondary school and she intended to use it very well. With one last glance at the light glittering across the top of the water she turned and entered her house through the back door.

When Renna came into the kitchen, she was met with the smell of bacon. Her grandma was standing at the stove, her silver hair spilling out of a messy bun and onto her shoulders that were clad in a floral yellow dress. Her grandpa was sitting in his favourite seat at the kitchen table, his iron coloured hair poking over the top of the newspaper that was obscuring his face.

As she came in they smiled happily at her, the paper now on the table.

"Happy birthday, Ren" Grandma said with a wide smile, leaving the bacon and coming to give Renna a warm hug. Her Grandpa stood and joined them.

"You have grown up so fast" he said, and then gave a mischievous grin before adding "that would explain the hair"

Renna laughed as Grandma proceeded to defend her honour by cuffing him on the head with the back of her spatula and then returned to the bacon with a grin pulling at her wrinkled features.

Grandpa left the room quickly and returned with a small box in his hand. It was wrapped in blue and silver paper and had a ribbon on top in a delicate bow. In the other hand there were two envelopes, which came as quite a surprise to Ren as she only had her grandparents as family and nobody else ever gave her cards or letters.

Grandpa motioned for her to sit down at the table before sitting down himself. Grandma served the bacon and some toast, before sitting down too. When they were all sitting comfortably, Grandpa presented her with the box and one of the envelopes, before with a warm smile declaring "your present from us, Renna. I hope you like it."

With a wide grin, she began to tear away the wrapping paper to revel a jewellery box and inside was one of the most beautiful necklaces she had ever seen. Laden in a silver setting was a delicate dark blue stone. The silver emanated from it in an intricate pattern that looked like both waves and the wind and it joined at the sides to a simple but beautiful chain.

Renna was at a loss for words. It was like it was designed simply for her and it seemed to capture the very essence of her soul. Her face split into an ecstatic smile as she lunged across the table to hug her chuckling grandparents.

"Like it? I love it! How on earth did you find something this beautiful?" she exclaimed, fiddling with the latch in order to hang it around her neck where it belonged.

"Pfft, it wasn't easy, but I'm glad you like it, sweetheart." Grandma said with a grin.

Ren had now opened the card and was grinning even more broadly at the delicate waves and beautiful fish, as well as the words inside.

Her grandfather's expression suddenly became serious as he looked at his wife and then back to Renna. "Ren, dear. We have something to tell you…"

"Hmm?" she replied surprised.

"It's about your mother and now you too…" Grandma continued slowly "you see… your mother was a witch…"

Renna went from surprised to baffled in less than a second. Normally whenever her parents came up in conversation, the subject was changed as they were too worried about upsetting her, and now they had proclaimed that her mother, who she had known for only 4 years of her life, was a witch.

"When she was 11 years old she was invited to attend a school for people with magic..." Grandpa continued.

"and now…"Grandma paused "It seems that you too, have received a letter from the school" she said as grandpa presented her with the other envelope. She stared at the heavy parchment covering with her address on it and turned it over to see the wax seal pressed with a pretty crest.

"I...I'm a… witch?" Renna asked quietly. Her grandparents nodded calmly at her, now smiling with pride.

Renna slowly opened and read the letter that would change her life.

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL **

**OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**

**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump,**

**International Confed. of Wizards)**

**Dear Ms Hills**

**We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.**

**Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.**

**Term begins on 1****st**** September. We await your owl by no later than 31****st**** July.**

**Yours sincerely**

**Minerva McGonagall**

**Deputy Headmistress**


End file.
